The Woman King, starring Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis, has started off its North American theatrical run with a promising $1.7 million in Thursday previews on its way to easily winning this weekend’s box office hunt.
From Sony’s Tri-Star division and eOne, the historical epic is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood from a script by Dana Stevens and based on a story by Maria Bello and Stevens about the Agojie, an all-female army in the West African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Thursday previews started at 3 p.m. local time.
The film received rave reviews from its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 9. It presently boasts a 94 percent freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sony is being cautious in projecting a weekend opening of $12 million. Pre-release tracking, however, suggests Woman King could debut to as much as $15 million-$18 million. The movie cost a reported $50 million to produce, excluding marketing and distribution spends.
The Woman King also stars Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin and John Boyega.
